Photoelectric lighting control device utilizing translucent film with reflective areas



Jan. 28, 1969 J. 1.. WILSON 3,

PHOTOELECTRIC LIGHTING CONTROL DEVICE UTILIZING TRANSLUCENT FILM WITHREFLECTIVE AREAS Filed April 20, 1966 Sheet .of 2

IN VEN TOR.

JOHN L. WILSON BY 4% W, M M

' ATTORNEYS Jan. 28, 1969 J. L. WILSON 3,424,914

ONTROL DEVICE UTILIZING TRANSLUCENT PHO'IOELECTRIC LIGHTING C FILM WITHREFLECTIVE AREAS Z of 2 Sheet Filed April 20, 1966 2E illie INVENTOR.

JOHN L. WILSON ATTORNEYS United States Patent 8 Claims The presentinvention is directed to a compact, lowcost control system for lightingdisplays of the type usually found in theaters. The control system mayalso be used to control any electrical device including sound effects,musical instruments, water pumps, electrically operated mechanicaldevices, latches, valves, motors or the like. The system could be usedto control a musical fountain in which the musical tones, waterpressure, light colors and intensities would all be controlled by thevarious control channels of the system. The system is useful in anyapplication where the artist composes with and plays back a compositionon a number of electrical circuits. Such a device is capable of beingpreset in an infinite number of arrangements and the present program maybe operated intermittently or continuously at any desired speed.

Lighting control systems for use in theaters or in conjunction withvarious other displays have in the past been extremely complicated andexpensive and only the larger more profitable theaters could afford anytype of automatic lighting control system. In recent years, the lightingcontrol systems have become even more sophisticated and expensive asevidenced by the computer-type record and read-out systems which arecurrently in operation in sereval theaters throughout the country. TheAmerican theater in recent years has experienced an amazing revival ofthe small drama group, both on the amateur and professional level. Sucha revival is welcome and necessary in order to stimulate the culturalgrowth of the American public. Numerous cities are expending large sumsof money on community theater centers or cultural centers which willneed a vast pool of talent to draw upon in order to make adequate use ofthe facilities. To provide the existing large theater groups with asteady supply of talent, the small drama groups must be encouraged andgiven every opportunity to perform under conditions which approximatethose found in the larger theaters. The cost of lighting control systemsfor these small drama groups is prohibitive and the need for a small,compact, inexpensive lighting control system which will provideautomatic lighting control comparable to that found in the larger, moreexpensive lighting control systems, is evident.

In the past, researchers have rejected the idea of developing analogrecording devices to control lighting arrangements because of their lackof sophistication and because of a tendency to keep a less perfectrecord of exact intensity readings than the digital recording devices.The present invention, which ultilizes an analog recording arrangementshows that the disadvantages which may be theoretically inherent toanalog devices are not meaningful in practice and in fact certainsignificant advantages which have not been previously explored readilystand out. The most obvious of these is simplicity.

The lighting control device of the present invention is unique in thatit proves to be esthetically useful to the artist as well as practicalfor the electrician. The controlling information is recorded directlyonto an acetate film or the like by an operator using graphic techniquesfamiliar to him as an artist. It is possible to see at a glance therelationship between the markings made upon the tape thereby enablingthe mind to interpret and recognize the varying widths or intensities ofthese markings much 3,424,914 Patented Jan. 28, 1969 more rapidly thanthe mind could keep track of digital information. The controllinginformation may be recorded onto the film simultaneously with theperformance of the play by the actors in the case of theater lighting.The lighting design specialist on the stage can quickly determine whichlights are too dim or too bright and convey this information to theoperator of the lighting control device who then simply adds to or takesaway from a reflective material on the film. The electronic circuitsreact at the same time the markings on the film are changed, therebyallowing the operator to determine instantaneously what he is doing sothat he may make immediate adjustments.

The lighting control device of the present invention not only provides ameans for recording the controlling information readily onto a film, butalso provides a simple versatile and accurate means for indexing thefilm at the proper times and at the proper speeds to achieve the desiredlighting effects. A play is not a precise series of movements, but thetiming varies depending upon the particular actors, the particularperformance and the particular audience involved. Therefore, a rigidlyprogrammed lighting control system would place an undue burden upon theactors by forcing them to keep up with a lighting control system ratherthan having the lighting control system follow the movements of theactors. By use of a manual hand wheel with reduction gearing connectedin the drive train between the hand wheel and the take-up roll for thefilm, the film may be advanced at any time by the operator and at anydesired speed. Thus, where the tape is programmed to fade a particularlight from full on to completely oif between two one stops, the fadingmay be accomplished rapidly or over a prolonged period of time dependingupon the speed at which the operator advances the film. Automatic brakemeans are also provided to prevent the operator from moving the filmpast a particular cue stop. This feature enables the operator to devotehis full time and attention to the movement of the actors on the stage.

The lighting control device of the present invention also contemplatesthe use of a variable speed motor for indexing the tape from cue stop tocue stop. The control of the variable speed motor may be accomplished bymeans of a separate channel on the tape and a separate photocell motorwill run either fast or slow to change from one cue stop to another at adesired rate. In such a system, the operator would only have to initiatethe operation of the motor when it is desired to advance the tape fromone cue stop to the next. The present invention is also capable ofcontrolling any number of lights independently of each other and yet iscapable of a controlled proportional fade-out of all of the lightssimultaneously irrespective of their setting at the beginning of thefadeout.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the followingdescription and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawingswhich disclose, by way of example, the principle of the invention andthe best mode which has been contemplated of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the lighting control device of thepresent invention;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view of the device as viewed from theright end in FIGURE 1 with the end panel removed;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the device as viewed in FIGURE 1with the side panel, the hand wheels, cranks and gearing removedtherefrom;

FIGURE 4a is a partial sectional view showing a photocell arrangementand the path of the control light when the film is unmarked;

FIGURE 4b is a partial sectional view similar to FIG- 3 URE 4a butshowing the path of the light when the film is coated with reflectivematerial; and

FIGURE 5 is a schematic showing of the electrical circuitry associatedwith each photocell arrangement.

The lighting control device is comprised of a frame having a top surfacethereon and having elongated aperture means located in said surface,translucent film means adapted to be rendered light reflective andadapted to be moved across said surface over said aperture means, meansfor moving said film means, photocell means mounted on said frameadjacent to and beneath said surface at the aperture means, light sourcemeans located beneath said surface adjacent said aperture means andadapted to direct light upwardly through said aperture means to saidtranslucent film means, baffle means substantially surrounding saidphotocell means to shield said photocell means from stray light as lightfrom said source passes through said aperture means to said film meansbut permitting light from said source to be reflected from said filmmeans when said tape means has been rendered reflective with areflective material onto said photocell means, lighting means to becontrolled, and dimmer means connected to said lighting means andcontrolled by said photocell means to automatically dim and brightensaid lighting means at the desired rate according to the programmed filmmeans.

Turning now to FIGURE 1, the lighting control device designatedgenerally as 10, is comprised of a rectangular cabinet 12 supportedabove the floor by means of a plurality of legs 14. The top surface 16of the housing 12 is formed with a rectangular cutout 18 extending oversubstantially the entire top surface. A relatively large portion of theopening 18 is covered by a rectangular frosted glass plate 20 which isspaced from both ends of the opening 18. Adjacent the glass plate 28 area pair of opaque tape support plates 22 and 24 which are spaced fromeach other to define an aperture 26. A plurality of channel defininglines 25 are placed on the surface of the plates.

Journaled in the housing 12 are three roller members 28, 30 and 32. Atransparent acetate film 33 is wound upon the supply roll 28 and extendsupwardly through an aperture 34 between the end of the cutout opening 18and the glass plate 20. The tape 32 extends over the surface of theglass plate 20, the opaque plates 22 and 24 and the aperture 26. Anotheraperture 36 is formed between the opaque plate 24 and the control panel38. The film 33 passes over the idler roller 30 and is wound up on thetake-up roller 32. The shaft 39 of the feed roller 28 is connected to acrank 40 exteriorly of the housing 12. If desired, a one-way couplingmay be placed between the crank 40 and the shaft 39 so as to prevent therotation of the crank 40 when the film is being wound up upon thetake-up roller 32. The crank 40 is provided for rewinding the film ontothe supply roll 28.

The shaft 42 of the take-up roller 32 is journaled in bearings 44mounted on the housing 12. The shaft 42 extends through an opening inthe housing 12 and has a gear 46 mounted thereon externally of thehousing. A shaft 48 is journaled in a bearing 50 mounted on the frame 12and extends through an aperture in the housing. The outer end of theshaft 48 has a hand wheel 54 mounted thereon. The hand wheel is formedwith a hub 52 which as a gear 56 formed thereon which meshes with thegear 46. Inwardly of the housing 12, the shaft 48 has a gear 58 securedthereto which is adapted to mesh with the gear 60 secured to the shaft62, journaled above end in bearing 64 within the housing 12. Theopposite end of the shaft 62 is journaled for rotation within thesolenoid housing '66 which is secured to the housing 12 by means of abracket 68. Secured to the shaft 62 for rotation therewith is a hubmember 17 having a plurality of axially directed teeth 72 about thecircumference thereof. A second hub member 74 is mounted for axialsliding movement upon the shaft 62 and is also provided with a pluralityof axially directed teeth 76 about the circumference thereof which areadapted to mesh with the teeth 72. The slidable hub 74 is journaled forreciprocating motion within the solenoid housing 66 and is preventedfrom rotational movement. A solenoid (not shown) is mounted within thehousing 66 and the armature thereof is secured to the slidable hubmember 74 to shift the teeth 76 into and out of engagement with theteeth 72. A spring member (not shown) may be provided for shifting theslidable hub member 74 in one direction while the solenoid supplies themotor force for shifting the hub in the opposite direction. When theteeth 76 are in mesh with the teeth 72 the shaft 62 will be preventedfrom rotating and hence the shaft 48 and the hand wheel 54 will beprevented from turning.

Turning now to FIGURE 3, we see a divider panel 78 extendingtransversely of the housing 12. The panel 78 provides a support for thelight sources 80 and 82. The light source 80 is mounted beneath thefrosted glass plate 20 and provides a source of illumination for themarked tape member which passes over the upper surface of the glassplate. The light source 82 is shown more or less schematically in FIGURE3 and may in practice consist of a battery of spotlights mounted alongthe length of the panel or may be a single elongated bulb such as afluorescent tube. In either case it is necessary to provide a lightsource which is fairly even along the entire length of the aperture 26between the two work support plates 22 and 24.

Secured to and depending from the support plates 22 and 24 are aplurality of vertically disposed parallel baffle members 84. The spacebetween each of the vertical members 84 is provided with a U-shapedhousing member 86 which has a portion 88 adjacent the light source beingbent inwardly. The members 84 and 86 cooperate to define a plurality ofbox-like members which are adapted to receive a photocell 90 which maybe mounted near the bottom of the box-like member. In the arrangementshown, the photocell is mounted on the vertically disposed bafile plate84 but depending upon the particular photocell used it might be moreconvenient to mount the photocell on another wall of the baffle member.However, the photocell should be near the bottom of the box defined bythe members 84 and 86 so that the photocell will be unaffected by anystray light or by directly reflected light from the shiny undersurfaceof the film. The inwardly bent portion 88 prevents light from reflectingdownwardly from the upper plate member 22 to the photocell 90.

As seen in FIGURE 4a, when the film passes over the aperture 26 and isfree from: any markings, the light from the source 82 will passcompletely through the translucent film. In actual practice there wouldbe a small amount of light reflected from the shiny surface of the filmbut such light would be at an angle insufficient to activate thephotocell 90. However, when the film 33 is rendered opaque with thereflective coating 92, as seen in FIGURE 4b, the light from the source82 will be reflected diffusely downwardly to the photocell 98 toactivate the photocell. The material 92 may be a white material whichmay be painted on. An example of one material which might be used is anacrylic polymer latex emrulsion which artists commonly use. Thismaterial has a good consistency allowing the material to be painted onwith ease or wiped off clean. It dries rapidly so that it gives noproblem with offsetting as it is rolled. Days after it has dried it canbe easily scraped off with a stylus if the cues need to be altered. Thisparticular material never peels, cracks or discolors. Other materialswhich could be used would be a white adhesive tape which could be cut tothe desired size to give the desired area coverage. It is also possibleto design the device for trnarkings with colors or perhaps fluorescentpaint which would be energized by a black light source.

Also mounted within the housing 12 is a fan member 94 which may or maynot be needed depending upon the amount of heat generated by the variouslight sources.

The circuitry for use in the lighting system is extremely simple and isshown in FIGURE 5. The electronic dimmer 98 may be any of the standardelectronic dimmers with the terminals of the photocell connected in theelectronic dimmer in lieu of the adjustable resistance therein. The loadindicated at 96 could be the spotlight or any other combination oflights up to the capacity of the dimmer. There are presently on themarket several inexpensive electronic dimmers which will handle a loadup to 600 watts.

The light source 82 which provides the light for energizing the variousphotocells 90 may be controlled by a master fade switch 100 to enablethe lighting means 96 controlled by each of the photocells 90 to befaded simultaneously at the same rate regardless of their present leveldue to the markings on the film. The control panel 38 is also providedwith a plurality of control switches. The switch 102 may be connected tocontrol the worklight 80, the switch 104 may be connected to act as asystem switch for controlling the whole operation, a switch 106 may beconnected to control the blower or fan 94 and the switch 108 may beconnected to control the electric brake member.

In operation, a roll of transparent or translucent film is placed in thehousing at the left end as viewed in FIG- URE 1. The tape is drawnacross the upper surface of the frosted glass plate over the work platesand the aperture, about the idler roller 30 and is fastened to thetake-up roller 32. The system control switch 104 is turned to the onposition and the master fader 100 is set for the maximum intensityfor'the light source 82. The fan switch 106 and the worklight switch 102may be turned on if necessary. With no markings on the tape whatsoeverall of the light bulbs to be controlled will be completely off and if weare dealing with a theater the entire stage would be in darkness. Eachlight is controlled by a single channel on the tape as indicated by thelines 25 on the support plates 22 and 24. The lines 25 are aligned withthe vertically disposed baffle plates 84 so that each photocell 90controls a single channel or light means. When it is desired to bring aparticular light up, the operator merely covers a portion of the tapeover a particular photocell box. Depending upon the amount of the areacovered by the material 92 or the density of the material, the intensityof the light will be varied accordingly. If the area of the tape over aphotocell box is completely covered with the white reflective materialthe light will be brought up to its full on intensity. Likewise, if onlyhalf the area over a particular photocell box is covered by the whitereflective material the light will operate at 50% intensity. Cue stopsmay be marked along the edge of the acetate film and the spacing may notbe necessarily uniform inasmuch as a long extended sequence of lightingchanges may be required during a single movement between stops. On theother hand, the distance between one stops may be very short if only aquick change such as on to off is required. The distance from theaperture where the white reflective material is applied to the tape andthe take-up roll upon which the tape is wound is sufficiently great soas to enable the material to dry if it is a paint. The various channelscause the lights to fade up or down during movement of one apertureWidth of the tape. If the film moves an apertures width for each cue,then all channels will fade proportionately up or down from one set ofratings to the next at each cue. In lighting the stage, all lights mayfade rapidly except one or one or more can come up faster or a light canbrighten before it dims.

One of the channels between the lines 25 may be utilized to control thesolenoid operated brake member. If it is desired to use the brake memberfor automatically stopping the movement of the film at the proper time,the switch 108 is turned to the on position. The circuit to thesolenoid, however, will still remain open and the spring will maintainthe brake teeth 72 and 76 separated. When the photocell of the brakecontrol channel is energized due to the presence of white reflectivematerial on the film, a relay will be operated to complete the circuitto the solenoid, thereby shifting the brake teeth 76 into engagementwith the teeth 72 to immobilize the handle 54. In this way the operatormay devote his full attention to the movements on stage and vary therotation of the handcrank 54 accordingly and the movement of the filmwill be automatically braked at the predetermined instant. When it isdesired to move the film to the next cue stop, it is only necessary toflip the switch 108 to the off position until the film marking has movedpast the aperture 26 at which time the switch 108 may be closed again toautomatically stop the movement of the film at the next cue stop.

One of the channels may also be painted with the white reflectivematerial in a manner suitable to control a motor which in turn would beconnected to drive the take-up roller 32 in lieu of the handcrank 54. Byvarying the amounts of reflective material the photocell could controlthe speed of the motor. Whether the take-up roll 32 is motor driven orhand driven, the supply roll could still be actuated by means of thehandcrank 40 to rewind the film at the end of a particular performance.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in the light of the above teachings such as the use ofseparate pieces of film which could be placed in any desired sequenceover the aperture. It is, therefore, to be understood that within thescope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwisethan as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. A lighting control device comprising a frame having a top surfacethereon, aperture means located in said surface, translucent film meansadapted to be provided on the upper surface thereof with a reflectivematerial, means for moving said film means over said aperture means,photocell means mounted on said frame adjacent to and beneath saidsurface at the aperture means, light source means located beneath saidsurface adjacent said aperture means and adapted to direct lightupwardly through said aperture means and said translucent film means,baflle means substantially surrounding said photocell means to shieldsaid photocell means from stray light as light from said source passesthrough said aperture means and film means but permitting light fromsaid source to be reflected from said film means when said film meanshas been rendered reflective onto said photocell means, said photocellmeans adapted to be connected to an electronic dimmer in a lightingcircuit to automatically dim and brighten lights in said lightingcircuit at the desired rate according to the programmed film means.

2. A lighting control device according to claim 1 wherein said means formoving said tape means comprises a supply roll and a take-up rolljournaled in said frame and upon which said tape means is wound, crankmeans connected to each of said rolls, gear reduction means interposedbetween said crank means for said supply roll and said take-up roll.

3. A lighting control device according to claim 1 wherein a plurality ofphotocell means are located along the length of said aperture means toprovide the control for each of a plurality of lighting means and dimmermeans.

4. A lighting control device according to claim 3 wherein each of saidphotocell means is mounted on said baflle means, said bafi le meanscomprising a plurality of box-like structures arranged side by sidealong the length of said aperture means.

5. A lighting control device according to claim 4 wherein each of saidbox-like structures is provided with an open top adjacent said aperturemeans and the upper edge of the side of the box adjacent said lightsource is 7 bent inwardly to allow the light from said light source topass upwardly through said aperture means, said photocell means mountedadjacent the bottom of said box-like structure.

6. A lighting control device according to claim 1 further comprisingbrake means for said moving means and means for controlling said brakemeans comprising additional photocell means located beneath said filmmeans adjacent said first mentioned photocell means and controllable bymarkings upon the film to automatically operate said brake means.

7. A lighting control device according to claim 1 further comprising fanmeans located on said frame beneath the top surface thereof.

8. A lighting control device according to claim 1 wherein a portion ofsaid top surface is translucent and further comprising additional lightsource means mounted upon said frame beneath said translucent surface toilluminate said tape means.

References Cited M. A. LEAVITT, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 25 O239

1. A LIGHTING CONTROL DEVICE COMPRISING A FRAME HAVING A TOP SURFACETHEREON, APERTURE MEANS LOCATED IN SAID SURFACE, TRANSLUCENT FILM MEANSADAPTED TO BE PROVIDED ON THE UPPER SURFACE THEREOF WITH A REFLECTIVEMATERIAL, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID FILM MEANS OVER SAID APERTURE MEANS,PHOTOCELL MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME ADJACENT TO AND BENEATH SAIDSURFACE AT THE APERTURE MEANS, LIGHT SOURCE MEANS LOCATED BENEATH SAIDSURFACE ADJACENT SAID APERTURE MEANS AND ADAPTED TO DIRECT LIGHTUPWARDLY THROUGH SAID APERTURE MEANS AND SAID TRANSLUCENT FILM MEANS,BAFFLE MEANS SUBSTANTIALLY SURROUNDING SAID PHOTOCELL